Low Cost or No Cost Improvements to Hi-fi

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I use the following low cost or free things to keep my hi-fi sounding better:
[*] Granite chopping board from Morrisons under CD player as isolation platform (£9.99) [*] Half squash balls or isonodes under feet of CD player (£15 max). [*] Connect / reconnect speaker cables & interconnects every few weeks to ensure good contact (Free) [*] Leave equipment permanently switched on (2p per day)
Does anyone have any other suggestions?

 

[Anonymous]

If your speakers are bi-wirable, and you're running them single wired i.e. with the bridges between the high and low frequency connections, take out the bridges. Strip a piece of speakerwire, and put it in place of the bridges. It sure made a difference in my system.

 

[John Duncan]

More CDs!

 

[matthewpiano]

[quote user="Jan Hibma"]If your speakers are bi-wirable, and you're running them single wired i.e. with the bridges between the high and low frequency connections, take out the bridges. Strip a piece of speakerwire, and put it in place of the bridges. It sure made a difference in my system.[/quote]

I did the same and agree completely. Also, to anyone using an amp with seperate pre/power sections (EG the NAD integrateds), replace the jumpers with proper interconnect based ones. There are some on the Russ Andrews site. Less than £30 but sure makes a difference.

 

[matthewpiano]

Sometimes just having a break from hi-fi mags, dealers, forums etc. and just concentrating purely on enjoying the music can be a massive upgrade.

 

[Anonymous]

Amen

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="igglebert"]Amen[/quote]
Right, I'll be off then...

 

[d_a_n1979]

[quote user="matthewpiano"]Sometimes just having a break from hi-fi mags, dealers, forums etc. and just concentrating purely on enjoying the music can be a massive upgrade.[/quote]

I pray to that god

Just that when What Hifi comes thorugh my postbox every month i end up sinning again... Go figure... Haha

 

[nads]

Just giving the vinyl a good clean.

and making sure your ears are not full of wax

 

[Anonymous]

* Vaccum the speaker grills gently (I take them off before that)
* Jump through radio stations manually, just to make sure all stations are still reachable the way they used to be (helps me detect if antenna needs adjustment
* Clean the rack
* Change speaker location (just for the heck of it. No, actually it makes a bit of difference in the stereo image. Add a bit of "new" feel to the sound)
* Re-read from the Disc and re-rip for a bit-MORE-perfect copy and try to hear the difference (Actually, this one is psychological. You feel newly ripped sounds better, even if it doesn't.)

 

[Anonymous]

Take the speaker grilles of completely. I always found it blurs the treble somewhat.

Give all you cables from speaker end to power socket a good clean and, if they are not plated, scrubbing with a wire brush to remove oxides.

Tweak your speaker position, toe-in and vertical elevation, because that is one of the most important things in hifi. No good listening to a pair of speakers that are behind your sofa.

Various room adjustments, such as a rug a meter in front of your speakers - on a laminate floor that will help quell reflections. That and removing potential sources of resonance, rickety old cupboards and the like.

line your entire room with expanding foam filled egg boxes!

 

[Anonymous]

A good bottle of Saint-milion, Pomerol or M‚doc always helps my system sing...for me that is...

 

[roger06]

A couple of (large) glasses of wine...

My Naim always sounds best at about 10pm on a Friday when the week's work is done and I've sampled a few glasses of grape juice...

 

[JoelSim]

I couldn't agree more on the wine front. Much better than beer.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

The popular improvements seem to be:

- drink a lot of alcohol (wine works better than beer)

- keep your 12"ers clean to maximise performance.

- stop reading What Hi-fi

- don't believe anything you read in this forum.

Wish I'd have asked earlier!!

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="heystak"]
Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

The popular improvements seem to be:

- drink a lot of alcohol (wine works better than beer)

- keep your 12"ers clean to maximise performance.

- stop reading What Hi-fi

- don't believe anything you read in this forum.

Wish I'd have asked earlier!!
[/quote]

Gosh, put like that it makes us all sound like a miserable bunch, (sigh). Right, once I've dodged the annoying Friday evening traffic to get home, and purchased my rip-off bottle of French red from Tescos having queued for 30mins, I'll settle in to a nice listening session...that's if the bloody cat doesn't spoil it...